Southern Utah University launches master’s program in music technology

CEDAR CITY — As the music industry continues to expand, Southern Utah University remains at the forefront of innovation, it said in a news release, as it launches a new music technology master’s degree program this summer – the first university in the state to offer this degree.

Photo courtesy of Southern Utah University, St. George News

The music technology master will offer students more flexibility in the job market, said Steven Meredith, SUU’s director of choral activities and music technology.

“The main theme of this degree is not to sit in a cubicle from 9 to 5,” Meredith said. “This degree allows students to cobble together three to four different jobs and create a career from it.”

In recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, musician employment from 2012-2022 is expected to grow 5 percent while broadcast and sound engineering technicians’ employment is expected to grow 9 percent all due to digital downloads and new emerging music technology.

In his article, “The Coming Melt-Down in Music Higher Education,” music educator and critic David Cutler of the Duquesne University Center for Music Entrepreneurship Studies suggests that a music technology focus might be critical to the future of music education in general.

“As we have witnessed in the recording, automobile and housing sectors, past formulas for success may not last forever,” Cutler said. “Industries that fail to adapt to current realities are often unsustainable … over the coming decades, the music schools that thrive will be those that differentiate their offerings, cultivate entrepreneurial leaders, and best prepare students for professional realities.”

The Master of Music in music technology is an online degree program designed primarily for musicians who want to use technology to enhance and expand their current skill set. Those who wish to work or are already working as technicians in the music profession will have opportunities to increase their knowledge of current and emerging technology in the industry.

In total, the degree consists of a 30-credit curriculum, which also includes regular interaction with instructors through videoconference and desktop project-sharing technologies.